


Scars Under the Running Water

by PlagueDoctor31



Category: Evil Dead - All Media Types, Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Nudity (duh), Scars, and a generous portion of fanservice, shower scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 03:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18402008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlagueDoctor31/pseuds/PlagueDoctor31
Summary: Ash is going to take a shower, and surprisingly Herbert decides to join him





	Scars Under the Running Water

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another WIP I managed to finish up! I'm on a roll! XD  
> This one's a bit shorter but definitely makes up for it with fanservice, so I hope you like it! ^_^
> 
> (Also if any of you catch my Frightener's reference, I'll give you an imaginary cookie ;) )

Usually Ash waited for Herbert to go to work before taking his shower, but it was a day off. He had found the doctor curled against him in bed as he awoke, his expression so cutely peaceful as his chest slowly rose and fell with every breath. Ash could sit there forever, just to admire the man before him, but he knew it was his best opportunity to wash up this morning. He carefully rolled out of bed, eliciting a soft noise from Herbert from the disturbance, and quietly draped the blanket back over him.

The clothes were dropped wordlessly on the floor once Ash stepped into the bathroom, and he turned to sigh in the mirror, just like every other time he looked. Mirrors and Ash never got along, so the man kept well away from it as he gazed over his appearance, at all the scars, all the reminders of the cabin. The ones on his face he could wave away with the “got into a fight” excuse, but as it dropped below the neckline it got harder to explain. The scars on his ankle where the flesh was ripped and torn. His chest sustained minimal amount of damage, but Ash could still clearly remember the circumstances in which he got them, and then there was his hand… or lack thereof.

Ash pulled off the prosthetic that took the place of his missing right hand, tossing it onto the pile containing the rest of his clothes with a frown. He had begun making a habit of wearing it as he slept once Herbert had begun joining him in bed. It wasn’t that the scarring was too gruesome for him, hell Herbert’s probably seen a lot worse in his day to day, but Ash shuddered with discomfort of his stump being examined with that cold clinical gaze Herbert tended to adopt while he was working. Actually, Ash would much prefer that Herbert didn’t look at any part of him like that. That was why he preferred to clean himself while Herbert wasn’t around to see him. Ash looked back towards, at the unmoving form under the covers. Knowing he still had time before the other would wake, Ash fully stripped and sat on the side of the tub, reaching for the knob to start the shower.

With his back to the doorway and the running water from the tub faucet drowning out the noise, Ash assumed all was as it should be around him. Once he brought the water to the right temperature and stood to switch on the shower, Ash noticed he was no longer alone in the room. Glancing back, he saw a half-awake Herbert West hunched over the sink with a toothbrush in hand, spitting out the contents of his mouth and letting it get washed away by the running water.

“JESUS-” Ash scrambled to cover himself “Herbert! Could you at least knock first?”

Herbert looked up from what he was doing, blinking and squinting to focus on Ash without the aid of his glasses, “Hm? You were busy. I assumed you weren’t going to notice.”

Glasses or not, Ash knew Herbert could see he was naked, “Herbert, I’m not…”

“Decent? I noticed,” Herbert turned back to the sink to rinse out his mouth. Ash couldn’t help but feel the satisfaction swell in him at upon noticing that Herbert’s cheeks had a faint hint of pink.

“Well, I should probably…” Ash gestured back towards the tub, figuring it was better to quit while he was ahead “Wash up…”

Herbert let out a soft “Hm” of acknowledgement as Ash switched the shower on, letting the water rain down on the tub. Ash placed one foot in, but then he paused and looked back at the other man. A stupid thought came into his mind: What would West look like without clothes? He was a small man, but Ash could only imagine how much smaller Herbert would be with all his layers stripped away, with his pale skin and unintentionally cute expressions. Ash shook his head. There was no way in hell he could ever convince West to do something like that.

He placed his other foot in, but perhaps too quickly. With the tub slick with water, Ash slipped and fell backwards.

Ash expected a hard impact, but it never came. In fact, he felt very warm. Two strong arms kept him from hitting the ground. Ash didn’t want to admit that his heart skipped a beat at the realization of who was holding him, but his heart absolutely skipped a beat as he looked up at see Herbert looking down at him.

“You’re alright,” Herbert observed with an expression that made it hard to tell if Herbert was reassuring Ash or himself.

“Thanks,” Ash tried to ignore the heat rising in his cheeks “I owe you one…”

“Yes, well-” Herbert cut himself off, looking down at himself with a scowl “Ugh…”

Ash furrowed his brow and twisted around to see what was wrong. The front of Herbert’s sleep shirt now had a large wet stain that continued down and no doubt reached his thighs. Ash couldn’t help but smile a little, realizing where they came from.

“Sorry. I got you wet.”

“Yes you did,” Herbert grumbled, helping Ash back to his feet. Ash realized he had a chance to get ahead, and so he took it.

“Well, you could always join me,” Ash mused moving back to the tub “It’ll save water, and keep me from falling again.”

Herbert folded his arms, squinting his eyes again, “I could…”

Not wanting to push further, Ash carefully stepped into the shower and letting the hot water run over him and leaving Herbert to his own devices. He planted the seed, and now Ash had to wait and see if Herbert would let it grow. Surprisingly, Ash didn’t have to wait long. The shower curtain drew back, and it took all of Ash’s willpower to not gasp in surprise at the sight of Herbert joining him under the running water.

His curiosity had finally been rewarded, as Ash looked back at the man behind him, with the golden opportunity to looking upon the great Herbert West, the prudest man he’s ever known, _sans_ clothing. He was right, the man was small and _very_ pale, like a man who never stepped outside with anything less than a t-shirt and pants. It was very fitting, but Ash’s gaze was drawn to a certain spot on Herbert’s person. Herbert noticed this, and furrowed his brow.

“What are you staring at?” Herbert eyed him suspiciously. Ash reached out, gently placing his hand over the smaller man’s chest.

“You have chest hair,” Ash observed out loud, running his fingers through the dusting of dark hair over Herbert’s sternum “I don’t know why, but I always pictured you without it.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Herbert wrapped his hand around Ash’s wrist, as if to pull the hand away, but he didn’t. A smiled grew on Ash’s face as he slid his hand up, feeling the softness of the skin on Herbert’s shoulders and neck, rewarded by the sight of Herbert’s eyelids falling shut and the man letting out a soft sigh. His hand came to a rest on Herbert’s cheek, and Ash gave it a little pat before finally pulling his hand away.

Ash tried his best not to laugh at the frown Herbert adopted as he did so, “Now where did I put the shampoo?”

Herbert turned to look around to help him look, and Ash found himself briefly distracted by the man’s rear-end: small, round, and very cute with that narrow waist of his. If only he could reach down and give it a squ-

“Here it is,” Herbert turned back around with the bottle on hand, and Ash felt his heart deflate with disappointment. Ash reached out to take the shampoo, but Herbert held it out of reach, sitting down on the edge of the tub. It was Ash’s turn to furrow his brow as he looked on in confusion.

“Lean down,” Herbert directed as he flipped open the shampoo cap and squeezed a generous amount into his palm. Ash should’ve known what he was planning to do, but it was taking him far longer to believe it. Herbert looked up at Ash’s, no doubt, dumbfounded expression impatiently, and Ash finally lowered his head and leaned down.

Ash couldn’t remember the last time when someone did this, or offered to. Hell, it was possible that this was the first time. Nonetheless, the feeling of someone else’s fingers raking through his hair and lathering it with soap felt alien but nothing short of _heavenly_. He felt his shoulders slump forward with relaxation as the tips of Herbert’s fingers massaged his scalp, the faintest scratch of nails providing a tingling sensation that Ash could definitely become addicted to as it travelled down his spine. However, Ash opened his eyes as reality beat itself back into the forefront. Herbert West, of all people, was standing in the shower with him and washing his hair. He furrowed his brow as he tilted his head in attempt to look at him.

“Uhhhhh, Herbert?” Ash called to attention “What brought this on?”

“You don’t normally question my help, Ash,” Herbert paused his hands to move Ash’s head back in place “Keep your head down. You wouldn’t want soap in your eye.”

A small noise escaped Ash’s throat from the sudden and brief use of force, “Just- uhn!- Just answer the question.”

“Well,” the hands hesitated their work “You only have the one hand. I assumed, perhaps, you would appreciate my help.”

Ash hesitated as well, a needle of guilt pricking his heart. It was the big reason why Ash wore his prosthetic almost 24/7. Without it, even the most basic of two-handed tasks were at least ten times more difficult to him. It reminded him of being back in that cabin, having to defend himself all over again as the newcomers were being picked off one by one. Ash never liked at, that feeling of helplessness.

“There’s nothing to feel wrong about.”

Ash forced his head up past Herbert’s hands to look at him, “What?”

“Please,” Herbert scoffed softly “You wear your emotions on your sleeve. There’s no need to feel embarrassed about only having one hand.”

“You say that,” Ash retorted “But you still have both of yours.”

“And yet _I_ did not create an apparatus that could wear a chainsaw in place of the missing appendage. And the prosthetic was created by you as well, unless you’re about to deny something you’ve boasted about for so long.”

“Well,” Ash smiled, but only just a tad “I guess you got me there.”

Herbert let out a sigh, and Ash felt his fingers lift away from his scalp and trail down, coming to stop to hold his cheeks, a surprisingly tender gesture but was nonetheless was done to keep Ash’s face up.

“You have your strengths, Ash,” Herbert looked at him in the eyes “If you didn’t, I highly doubt you would be here. With everything you’ve told me in consideration, I don’t think you managed to survive through sheer dumb luck alone. Hand or no hand, you still have considerable amount of skill.”

Ash grinned a little wider. Herbert was a genius in his own right, and Ash had witnessed it in the lab and by listening to him speak. To hear him declare that he had strengths despite his handicap, Ash couldn’t help but feel flattered at it all. He stood back up to full height, feeling the soap getting rinsed out of his hair by the running water as he wrapped his arms around Herbert into a bear hug. He reveled at the feeling of the smaller man against him, and let out a laugh as he heard Herbert sputter in his hold. Herbert slipped out of his grasp, glaring up at him with his cheeks flushed red with blush. The whole scenario felt so intimate, as they were two men standing naked and slick with water, at least one of them ripe for the taking hypothetically, but instead there they stood, cleaning each other up. Ash knew by the swelling of his heart that he would rather have nothing else.

Ash tilted his head back, fully rinsing out his hair of soap but silently missing Herbert’s magic touch on his scalp. Speaking of, the man was still looking at him.

“What?” Ash couldn’t help but laugh, striking a little pose for him “Like what you see?”

“Yes,” Herbert answer with a bluntness that surprised him, and Ash felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He’s got muscles, yes, but he’s still got those nasty scars. Herbert reached up, and further shocked Ash by lifting up the stub of his right arm, ever so gently tracing his thumb over the scar tissue.

“Your body is full of these scars,” Herbert continued as he observed the stump “A roadmap of pain, but a testament to your endurance.”

“Pretty gross, huh?” Ash joked half-heartedly, and Herbert looked up at him with a hard expression.

“I find it impressive,” Herbert spoke plainly, but with tone of sincerity that went straight to Ash’s heart. Once again, he felt himself moving forward again, pulling Herbert into another embrace, but this time the smaller man must’ve expected it. He had braced for impact, and placed his hands on Ash’s shoulders to steady himself. Ash looked down at Herbert, at his hazel eyes and pouty lips and dark hair flattened by the shower. However, something caught his eye as he looked down, something he hasn’t noticed before on Herbert’s face. He reached up with his hand to brush aside a few strands of wet hair that covered a small dark circle on the upper corner of his forehead. He brushed his thumb over the raised skin. Indeed, it was a scar; a stark imperfection on the scientist’s otherwise flawless skin. 

Herbert seemed to notice Ash’s curiosity in it and tilted his head away, “A souvenir from the Miskatonic Massacre, when Dr. Hill tried to lobotomize me.”

“Damn, and here I thought I couldn’t hate that guy more,” Ash remarked with a frown, leaning forward to plant a brief kiss over it, an action that brought a small smile to Herbert’s face.

“If you persist on seeing your scars as a sign of weakness, then that, you can say, is a sign of mine.”

Ash’s frown deepened in protest, “Hey now, I know you’re not the strongest guy out there, but give yourself some credit. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknes- Ohhhhhhh…”

Ash realized what Herbert was getting at, what he made Ash walk right into saying. Herbert’s smile widened, having grown smug with triumph, and Ash couldn’t help it. He smiled happily, and leaned down to close the gap with a tender kiss, and felt his own heart swell with joy as he felt Herbert lean into it.

“Thanks,” Ash finally said as he pulled away.

Herbert furrowed his brow, “For what?”

“For being nice to me,” Ash smiled, and quickly cut in when Herbert started to protest “Oh yes you are! You’re nice when you want to be!”

Herbert huffed and looked away, very much pouting at that moment, “Very well…”

“Oh, and thank you again.”

Herbert looked even more confused, “For what?”

Ash chuckled at that expression and gave him another quick kiss on the lips.

“This.”

The look on Herbert’s face when Ash reached down and gave his cute little ass a squeeze was, without a doubt, absolutely priceless.

**Author's Note:**

> That was a lot of fun! Hopefully I'll find more WIP to finish up and post up on here, but for now I hope you guys had a lot of fun reading and look forward to more! ^_^


End file.
